Production Designers Discuss Art Directors Guild-Nominated Projects

Introduction

On Jan. 4, the Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800, announced nominees in 11 categories for the 22nd annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards. As they do every year, Variety editors picked one nominee from each category and asked a ADG member to evaluate the work of that individual. As always, the choices are tough because there’s much great work to choose from. The ADG Awards will take place on Jan. 27 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood.

The Shape of Water

Period Film

PD: Paul D. Austerberry

Austerberry infuses “The Shape of Water” with a gorgeous shimmering green-blue palette evoking the color of water. The drenched Toronto exteriors are dressed to look like 1950s Baltimore in tinted-postcard-inspired detail. The more-than-gorgeous period-perfect interiors are infused with watercolor depth and exacting character verisimilitude. Those warm interiors are crafted by set decorators Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau in contrast with the Cold War- inspired bunker complex that houses the top-secret creature. There are fantastic “World of Tomorrow” mosaic murals adorning the great hall of the bunker. The aqua palette permeates everything from the green glazed tile of the military facility walls to the 19th century wallpaper in the apartment hallways. Production design floods this world with luminescent details that enhance the watery-vision of this soon-to-be-cult masterpiece. This is the most beautifully designed movie in a year of great-looking films.

Written by John Iacovelli, production designer on “Los Americans” and “Lincoln Heights.”

Blade Runner 2049

Fantasy Film

PD: Dennis Gassner

In 1982, when the original “Blade Runner” was released, I wasn’t working in the film industry. But I found myself transfixed by its futuristic world, and that film became one of the main reasons I pursued a career as a production designer. Cut to 2017 and “Blade Runner 2049.” Thirty-five years later I find myself transfixed, yet again, but this time the look is in the extremely capable hands of Oscar winner Gassner. The respect and care Gassner showed for this film is evident in every frame. This new world is one of brutal architecture amidst a vision of decay, harking back to the original but with a new take on its featured cities of Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Diego. It’s not easy for a sequel to maintain the aesthetic of the original. But in the case of “Blade Runner 2049,” Gassner has created a stand-alone masterpiece of design. It is a delight for the senses.

Written by Denny Dugally, production designer on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” and “Agent X.”

Downsizing

Contemporary Film

PD: Stefania Cella

I made it a point to see “Downsizing” in the theater. I was curious to see how a film about small people would work on the big screen. Mainly, I wanted to see how production designer Stefania Cella would play with a core organizing principle for all designers: scale. Scale and proportion, when utilized incorrectly, can immediately disrupt the viewer’s relationship with the world being presented, thus making that world lose authenticity. In this case, both worlds, big and small, exist in a contemporary, modern framework still recognizable to an audience. Because the “downsized” world is not some sci-fi world of the future, Cella had to use scale adeptly to make the downsized characters feel truly small compared to “normal” surroundings. From the large scale models that had to be built, to the forced point perspective that she had to be aware of throughout the story, Cella has done a masterful job in supporting the story through her design.

Written by James Pearse Connelly, production designer on “Bill Nye Saves the World” and “The Voice.”

Coco

Animated Feature Film

PD: Harley Jessup

Animation for too long has been relegated to the kids’ table of most awards programs. In particular, our voting communities have not encouraged its consideration for the best picture, production design and screenwriting categories so that it might transcend its origins as the cartoon before the feature. But this year, by recognizing production design in animation as being equal to all other genres that it celebrates, the Art Directors Guild has taken its first step. No work of animation has ever been successful without the contributions of a superior screenplay, performances and realization. “Coco” is blessed with all of these, so it is most fitting that it is among the five excellent finalists that the ADG is honoring at its program. “Coco’s” award-winning production designer Harley Jessup is a veteran of “Ratatouille,” “Monster’s Inc.” and “Cars 2.” For “Coco,” he and his immensely talented colleagues at Pixar have taken us to a very magical place – one blessed with great achievement and artistry, rich in emotion, textures, colors and imagination. The depth, complexity and details in the original tale, which honors and celebrates family, love, aspiration and legacy, are masterful.

Written by Tom Walsh, production designer on “Longmire” and “The Client List.”

The Crown: “A Company of Men,” “Beryl,” “Dear Mrs. Kennedy”

One-Hour Single-Camera Period or Fantasy Series

PD: Martin Childs

Imagine being challenged to design over 300 new sets, all of them period, for a long-form TV series. This is the task that Childs has performed exquisitely for season two of “The Crown.” For such design undertakings, Childs relies on his vast research library, often selecting an image that seemingly has no correlation with the design at hand, but its composition inspires a direction not originally thought of. For its second season, the story entered the new cultural landscape of the 1960s. Childs sought to express the dichotomy of the formality and symmetry of earlier design versus disposable modern conveniences of the ’60s. As a subtle color palette can leave the audience bewildered as to where they are, Childs’ use of rich red, when Princess Margaret first meets Tony, or a jealous green for the MacMillans, supports the story without being overly broad.

Written by Dawn Snyder, production designer on “Imaginary Mary” and “Rush Hour.”

I had to brace myself to watch “The Handmaid’s Tale,” designed by Berghoff. In today’s world, it promised to be more prescient than fictional. From the first frame, Berghoff’s dystopian design was a sucker punch, hooking me instantly. Gilead, the fictional world of the “Handmaid,” does not readily betray time and place. The architecture is traditional; the design speaks of power and wealth but is not beautiful. It is grimy and dark. There is a claustrophobic feeling that Berghoff creates by the omnipresence of military fortifications. The de-saturated palette enhances a sense of dread. Private homes are lush but gloomy. Public institutions in contrast are stark and blindingly white. When you do see vivid color, like the deep red of the costumes and the oranges in the bland supermarket, it augments the narrative. Berghoff imbues these moments with great beauty, which heightens the horror and sadness of the story.

Written by Cat Smith, production designer on “True Blood” and “In Treatment.”

Black Mirror

Television Movie or Limited Series

PD: Joel Collins and Phil Sims

Collins and Sims masterfully render two disparate worlds in this episode of “Black Mirror” that is equal parts futuristic tech horror and retro space spoof. In the virtual world, we board the USS Callister, a candy-colored starship programmed by Robert Daly to be a facsimile from his beloved series “Star Fleet,” a stand-in for “Star Trek.” The design team cleverly pays homage to the classic sci-fi westerns while heightening anachronistic elements to deconstruct the genre’s sexist trappings. Back in Daly’s “real” world, the Callister headquarters and his apartment pale in comparison, literally, with muted tones and harsh fluorescents. No wonder he retreats into the fantastical past where he can play God, turning this fanboys playground into something more of an existential nightmare for its unwilling inhabitants. When time’s up for Daly, the ship reboots to a sleeker unisex design, complete with lens flares. The future looks bright, indeed.

Written by Raf Lydon, production designer on “Full Metal Jousting” and “The Biggest Loser.”

Glow: “Pilot,” “The Wrath of Kuntar,” “The Dusty Spur”

Half Hour Single-Camera Series

PD: Todd Fjelsted

In episodes of “GLOW,” a series set in 1985 about a group of female wrestlers, Todd takes us seamlessly and beautifully through the story by way of his nostalgic designs: from the opening scene in director Sam Sylvia’s house, to the GLOW training gym, to a party in the Malibu mansion of GLOW’s producer Bash culminating with the in-house filmed promos of the wrestling ladies. The notable highlights that Todd has incorporated throughout include a robot that dispenses drugs, a room full of vintage video games of the day, Lichtenstein paintings, familiar ’80s art on the wall, a photo of Michael Jackson with a tarantula, a spread of party snacks and closets full of costumes for the wrestling ladies to play with. The neutral palette of the sets really allows the costumes and performances to shine!

Written by Oana Bogdan Miller, art director on “Castle Rock” and “Underground.”

The atomic hypothesis states that all things “attract each other when they are a little distance apart, but repel upon being squeezed into one another.” While single-camera television reaches for cinematic scope, and many multi-camera series now play out on wide-open set-scapes, “The Big Bang Theory” excels in tight and simple spaces – that very moment when the atoms get too close and begin to vibrate. This proximity serves as a caldron in which drama and comedy are forged by these amazing characters and story. And it is here, where Shaffner’s settings, wonderfully dense with nerdy detail and visual interest, serve to promote the inevitable chain reaction. His work on “The Big Bang Theory” continues to prove that science, comedy and art are not mutually exclusive.

Written by John Kretschmer, production designer on “SEAL Team” and “Homeland.”

Katy Perry

Short Format: Web Series, Music Video or Commercial

PD: Natalie Groce

Music videos are one of the most liberating formats for production designers to take fantasy to film reality in a few short strokes – and they’re never easy. Often the challenge is the time given to get the job done, leaving a lot of wrinkles and seams on the face of the finished product. But on Katy Perry’s “Bon Appétit” music video, Croce and her team have successfully fulfilled the artist’s vision and accomplished a polished end result in concept and production. “Bon Appétit” takes us through the world of a Michelin-starred chef’s kitchen with Perry playing the role of the meat on the table. Given that females figure prominently in control of the artistic choices made here, it serves as a simple political statement with Perry’s humor playing the joke. Croce’s sets work well in combination with her directorial expertise in post-production and visual effects to present us with a witty and inventive narrative, using fashion and beauty to create a less than savory subtext. She and her team surely worked overtime and tirelessly to achieve such delicious results.

Written by Emma Fairley, production designer on “Madonna: Ghosttown” and “Beyonce: Haunted.”

How do you design a television legacy? How do you make scenery funny? How do you be flexible enough to design an apartment bedroom, a presidential press room, kiddie restaurant Pizza Town!, a game show “Beat the Bookworm”! and not just make the setting of a game show, but instead a parody of it? How do you do all that fast all while supporting a myriad of personalities, zany characters, surprises, breakaways, a free-form script, last-minute tweaks, more changes and above all – do it for live television! You do it with the production design team at “Saturday Night Live” – a team that has continued to be a benchmark for live-event sketch comedy. Context is important to any joke and the team has the pressure of creating the environments with limited space and time, but still continues to make creative, memorable and award-winning sets.

Written by Adam Rowe, production designer on “Rizzoli & Isles” and “Dexter.”